Critter and Garden Update

Ok, here's a catch-up blog posting. The time away from regular computer work was supposed to help but ..

- day one found the milking goat's hooves being tended to by a pro because they hadn't been trimmed. EVER. they were turned in, making soft pads instead of calluses, and causing her to be very grumpy. no wonder.

-day two saw my hand getting sliced by a chicken coop when I tripped over one of our goats, and then on the way to get it taken care of, got a traffic ticket

-day three showed up with a sudden mouse invasion in our barn and an allergy attack for all of us here

-day four gave us progress (finally) on finishing the outside goat pen AND cancelling our quail and silkie chicken order until we have more time to devote to them

-day five found us in the middle of a wind storm, with tomatoes and squashes blowing nearly horizontal.

... other things ...

...our corn, sunflowers, cucumbers, melons and other seeds planted are bursting from the surface of the soil. Since we got such a late start on all gardening things, the corn probably won't be mature before the first frost but will provide a good place for beans to climb, and a windbreak for other plants.

...Hubby stepped on a screw (thankfully didn't go through to his foot) and I put my hand on a screw (yes, I did get impaled) plus cut both index fingers on baling wire. Can't really use either hand to hold tools and can barely type. Argh.

...Tomatoes (several varieties), black beauty eggplant and mini red bell peppers potted and against the workshop (windbreak). Have more still to pot up and get outside or in the green room.

...Planted many seedlings (squashes and cucumbers and 1 cantaloupe) in the plastic kiddie pool "container" that are having a growth spurt. Mulched with grass hay yesterday then watered real good. Hope the horrible wind this week doesn't kill them. And some rain would help save our backs and my cut-up hands.

...Flowers on our potatoes in boxes! More specifically, it's those potatoes that I had bought at the store to eat (last October?) for .99 cents for 10 pounds ... but they developed sprouts on them before I had a chance to eat them. Yes, using the chicken-poo boxes (from when the chicks were babies in boxes) worked very well, because those are the potatoes growing the best! The ones in boxes without chicken poo are lagging behind, and further behind are the rose finn fingerling potatoes that I bought specifically to plant. Hmmm... will definitely have to remember all of this for next year. Um... now that some are flowering, wonder what I'm supposed to do next?

...Planted more of those sprouted store-bought eating/baking potatoes in a kiddie pool, along with onion sets, soy beans and hutterite (white) soup beans.

...Took video of the trimming/cleaning of the "milking goat" 's hooves. Person who did it says it looks like they were NEVER done. Unless goats have access to lots of rocks (for climbing) then goat hooves need to be trimmed regularly .. about every 6-8 weeks. This goat is over 2 years old so they had grown in and around and couldn't allow calluses to grow on her little pads. Will try to post the video on youtube soon because it accurate shows how horrible the goat's hooves were when we got her. Really is abuse. Shame!

...Found an alternative source of goat milk. Really had to since the one we had refused to be milked without two additional helpers, taking over an hour a day. Way too long.

...Made our first raw milk goat yogurt and it did amazing! Very thick and quite tart. Subsequent batches will get honey and vanilla mixed in before getting processed. Meanwhile, Hubby's yogurt for this morning breakfast has a spoonful of blackberry jam in it.

...Used more raw goat milk to make a rice pudding, but forgot to add sugar. Hubby's in heaven anyway.

...Henny Penny's chicken house has been moved into a 6x10 dog kennel in the backyard. Finally. Spent her first night there so waking up this morning to the possibility of bugs and the definite of direct sunshine. Can barely wait to check on her!

...The goats spent their first night in their outside pen. It's about 9 times bigger than where they have been, so they were quite confused as to where to lay down for the night. Just hung around the gate, I guess hoping we'd come back. Hubby and I had to go out after dark and corral them into the little tarp-covered home we made for them. Guess we'll have to do that for several nights until they get the idea that it'll be warmer in there. That's also where we put the hay. Waiting for sun-up so I can look out of my window and see what they are up to!

Still need to take pictures of our garden. Coming up this next week, we hope to:

...Finish another outside chicken coop for the 7 week old chicks and move them in
...Pot up the rest of the tomatoes and peppers and move outside
...Build frames for berry bushes/brambles
...Plant the berry bushes/brambles

I'll try to post a couple of times a week. As other gardeners know, Summer is our busiest time!

Chicken and Seedling and Pen Update

Thought maybe I'd post a few pictures this morning....

The above picture of the yellow pool shows the plants we're growing indoors. Using a yellow kiddie pool, didn't poke holes in it, filled it with compost and dirty, and transplanted some mesclun seedlings on the right, and in the middle... nasturtiums and strawberries. On the left, which you obviously can't see, are seeds I planted for radishes, Danvers Half-Long carrots (short roots) and bunching onions (scallions).

This is a pic of the seedlings sitting in my east-facing bedroom, what we call the "green room" or "garden room". As you can tell, I have lots of tomato seedlings, cabbage, bell peppers, and much more. Really waiting for this snowy weather to finish so I can get out and fill up the garden (which I haven't finished getting ready yet).

The above is a picture of what the space looked like before the guys got very far with building the chicken coops and goat pen. Took them 2 days to get very far.

The above is a picture of what our goat pen looks like now that it's mostly finished. Plenty of room in the 4x16 enclosed house (yes, it has uncovered areas for good ventilation). Sturdy gate. Can't see the poultry fencing along the perimeter. Still to do: stack some bales of hay in the back of the house, place the water bucket ... where?, and install a scrap gate along the left wall to hook on the feed buckets. Other than that... it's sturdy and functional. Not by any means purty but will work for us. Should have the goats in it by weekend.

The above is a picture of our quail egg incubator. Yeah, we got that cheapo thing. Hard to keep the temp steady so I'm constantly checking and adjusting the foil around it. Then every time I take off the lid to turn the eggs (twice a day), the temp drops 10-15 degrees so really have to watch it then. Have it in the garden bedroom's bathroom so it won't be disturbed. Gonna have to find a better place for it the next time. Anyway, there are the 4 fertilized bobwhite quail eggs that came with it. They take 23 days to hatch, and our coturnix quail will only take 18-19 days. So... if Pecka gives me an egg today and tomorrow, we'll place them in the incubator tomorrow night. Should all hatch on Monday, Jun 7. Here's hoping!

Wanna see a pic? This is Henny Penny, the laying Araucana (easter egger) hen we got two Sundays ago. She gives about 6 eggs every 7 days. She's finally gotten used to us, and knows when we open the back door of the little temporary "isolation" coop that she'll get a treat ... whether it's a big red wiggler worm, or a handful of cracked corn or oats, or an apple core ... she's excited to see us!

Speaking of hens ... here's a picture of 4 of Henny Penny's light green chicken eggs, compared to 5 of Pecka's quail eggs. I love the contrast!


And here's a pic of the Kid's dinner the other night ... one chicken egg and 3 quail eggs. Notice the beautiful intense yellow-orange yolks and firm whites. Not sure you can see but the inside of the quail eggs is a light blue, and the inside of the light green chicken egg is ... light green! How cool is that?!?! Saved the eggshells to crush and give back to the chicken and quail. Good source of calcium to make more eggs.

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Remember ... please plant a nut or fruit tree today.

Growing Potatoes in a Trash Can or Bag

I got my seed potatoes the other day in the mail: Rose Finn Apple. Fingerlings. They are laying on a table in my grow room (because the instructions said to do that 1-2 weeks before planting). Plus I have store-bought baking potatoes from last Fall that have begun to sprout (I know... these might not produce very well so I'll double or triple how many I place in each container).

At our last house in 2008, we used tires to grow potatoes. What worked fine until a neighbor played a little trick on us, and we lost all of our potatoes. Plus you need to be really careful about using tires that haven't had "fix-o-flat" used in them. I guess we could try again, but we don't have any extra tires around anymore.

Somewhere I'd read that it's possible to grow potatoes in hay/straw. Lay some down, place the cut seed potatoes, cover with hay and keep covering as the leaves and stems get taller. Always leave a little leaf showing.

That seemed easy, so I thought maybe I'd do that. Take my 2x2 frames and fill with hay, then as I added more hay, add more frames till it gets kinda tall and allow to die back. I already have the wood for frames. We have plenty of hay for the critters, so it would be no problem to use some for the potatoes.

But then, as I was researching how long it takes potatoes to grow to maturity, I came across a little thing about how to grow potatoes in a trash can.

I know. Convenient!

Here's a link: http://www.ehow.com/how_2222722_grow-potatoes-garbage-can.html using a 30-gallon trash can.

This makes me think... regular sized kitchen trash cans are available at the dollar store for about $3 each. Our soil here is mostly sand anyway. Plus I have lots of cheap large black trash bags and empty Miracle Grow potting soil bags. I did a bit more research, and made the following plan:

-start now... a few weeks before the "last frost" for Zone 5
-a week or two before planting date, set seed potatoes where exposed to light and temps between 60-70 degrees
-a day or 2 before planting, use sharp clean knife to slice potatoes (1-2 eyes per part)
-buy a few 30-gallon kitchen trash cans (or use big bags)
-somehow label the can/bag with what kind of potatoes will be grown in it
-drill (or poke) 3 holes in the bottom of each can/bag
-drill (or poke) 2-3 holes around outside of can/bag, 3-6 inches up
-place a couple of layers of newspaper in bottom (to slow drainage)
-add couple of inches of hay or shredded newspaper
-add a few inches of potting soil
-add 3-4 potato eyes (eyes pointed up), spread out
-cover with another few inches of potting soil
-water but don't allow to get soggy; keep moist
-place can/bag in area where it will get 4-6 hours of sunlight
-bring can/bag inside if threatened with frost, and back out when it's "safe"
-... or place the lid over it at night (off during the day)
-in a few days, you'll see sprouts
-add a little more compost, soil or hay (we'll probably use hay)
-leave about 1 inch of leaves uncovered
-keep steadily moist and mounded (but not soggy)
-keep adding compost and so on, leaving that 1 inch showing
-on very hot days, move cans to where they can be shaded
-make sure bags or trash cans are supported so they don't fall over when full
-little offshoots form on the growing stem on which taters grow all the way up the stem
-by end of growing season, can/bag will be full
-if frost comes before you're ready to harvest, bring inside if possible
-do not expose potatoes to sunlight (causes greening which is somewhat poisonous)
-when flowers start, you can harvest new potatoes (usually in July)
-when the flowers fade and plant stalks die/turn yellow, the bigguns start to grow
-when ready to harvest, allow soil to dry out 2-3 days
-gently dump entire can or split bag onto a tarp
-pick out potatoes, handling as little as possible
-place the potatoes in sun for 2-3 hours to dry (some ref says 2-3 days)
-brush off soil (do NOT wash until ready to use)
-store in cool dark area (38-40 degrees) between sheets of newspaper
-collect soil from tarp and use again for something else (or place in composter)
-sterilize container with sun or bleach and put away to use next year
-for people who have a long growing season, start Crop #2 mid-June

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Days to Maturity (Potatoes):
Early varieties 70 to 90 days, mid season varieties 90 to 120 days, late varieties 120 to 140 days.
No clue what the baking potatoes I bought at the store to eat are... possibly late? The Rose Finn Apple potatoes take 90-110 days.

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We have so many of those pallets that we got the other weekend, AND I have lots of black trash bags (although they are the cheap kind so I'll double up). And since we have no soil, just sand, for this first year here, I'm buying big bags of Miracle Grow potting soil; I think I'll keep those bags and use them! I also have big bags from when I bought rice. So we'll place the pallets on the sandy soil where I want the potatoes, and start the potatoes-in-bags there. The pallets will keep the cheap bags from decomposing on the soil and will help the bag heat up. Hopefully not too hot!

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Note: I read one website where they used cardboard boxes to do this. Hmmm... we just moved and have a ton of empty moving boxes. Perhaps we could use those? Would need to put a bunch of rocks on the bottom so it wouldn't blow away in the huge winds we get here. But wouldn't the boxes get soggy and disintegrate under rains and regular watering? Wouldn't the beginning (bottom) part of the box be shaded so how would the potato plant grow being in the shade?

I also read about growing potatoes in laundry baskets ... they are cheap at the dollar store too. I'd place rocks in the bottom to keep them from blowing away. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the holes in the baskets... (1) wouldn't the soil fall through in which case it's be smarter to use hay, straw or shredded newspaper instead of soil, and (2) the potatoes could possibly poke through which means they'd turn green so maybe the laundry basket could be placed in one of those cheap black trash bags to keep the sun off. Guess it's the same principle as using a milk crate. Anyone?

Has anybody done it in any of these ways? If so, how successful were you? Did you use potting soil (what kind), compost, yard dirt, hay, straw or what? How many potatoes did you get out of each eye (estimate)? What happens when the plant grows taller than the trash can... just let it keep growing and ignore it?

And ... Can this be done indoors with a grow-light? I would think so, wouldn't you?

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HAPPY EARTH DAY

Winter Indoor Container Gardening

I had a great indoor garden last year: wonderberries, green beans, carrots, and tomatoes well into March. This year... well... we're in a different space. We're watching our pennies so our thermostat is set at 52 degrees F. I know, most people think that's cold, but for us, it's ok. But my plants are very ticked off at me! The banana plant is ok because it's in the patio window getting regular sun. The stevia, aloe and strawberries are kinda ok because they are in the bathroom with the grow lights but they aren't extremely thrilled. The tomato, beans, blueberry and a few others died, not just from the cold but also because SOMEBODY brought in bugs that munched on them.



So last week I threw some potting soil in pots I used last year in our portable garden, and threw in some seeds for beans, peas and cucumber. The peas and beans have sprouted (which I would take a pic of IF I could find my camera!). Another day or two for the cucumber. I think I'll also dig out another pot or 2 or 3 and plant some carrots and bunching onions and maybe some greens. Maybe a couple of radishes since those take only 4-6 weeks from seed to harvest.



We better find our homestead quickly! And it better have a sunroom on the entire south side, or else that's the first thing I'm adding! I love fresh veggies and fruit in the Winter.



Ok, so I keep it "too cold" in my home for some of these plants. Hmmm.... paying a high heat bill and having fresh veggies OR being able to afford the utilities but not having fresh veggies.



Tough question in this economy.


Vikki